How to make Your House more Energy efficient
Category:Carbon dioxide conservation There are many ways to make your house more energy efficient and save money in the process. They include: * Upgrading Attic Insulation * Energy Efficient Window Film * Fixing or Replacing Leaky Air Ducts * Fixing Air or Thermal Leaks * Energy Efficient Lighting * Energy Efficient Heating or Cooling Systems * Solar Energy Systems This article will explore the options to address energy efficiencies in these areas. =Upgrading Attic Insulation= Reducing house heat or cooling loss through the attic can we one of the best things to focus on to make your house more energy efficient -- especially if it is an older house. There are a number of options to consider here. Fiber Insulation Fiber insulation is typically blown into the attic or laid down in rolled sections called batts. Fiber can be made out of fiberglass, cellulose, mineral wool or sheep's wool. Fiber insulation in the attic is placed between and on top of the rafters. It reduces energy loss by stopping heat or cool from escaping from your living areas into the attic. Each of these materials have "R" values which represents the materials resistance to heat flow. The higher the R value, the better the insulation of that material and, in general, the more expensive the material is. The amount of insulation or R-value you'll need depends on your climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate. Here's a good link to determine how much insulation to add to a new or existing house: Insulation Calculator Rolled in insulation can be a fairly easy do-it-yourself project, but blown in insulation is almost often a professional job. Blown in insulation has an additional advantage over rolled in insulation as it doesn't leave gaps in which heat or cool can escape. Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 1 ton of carbon dioxide a year. Spray-In Foam Sealing Spray-in foam sealing is a different approach to energy loss and is becoming more popular in new home construction. The foam is generally made polyicynene or polyurethane although other variants exist. Spray in foam is almost always professionally installed and is applied to the underside of your roof and completely seals the attic from any air leaks from the attic. This approach is very energy efficient and substantially reduces the temperature of your attic in the summer and increases it in the winter as the temperatures more closely represent those that are in your living spaces. An additional benefit of spray in foam is that it is also a noise barrier. Thermal Shield A thermal shield is also a reasonably new method of insulation. A thermal shield is a thin layer (looks like tin foil) that reflects radiant heat escaping from your living areas back into them instead of letting it escape into the attic. When installed in the attic, it can be either laid on top of the rafters, or applied to the underside of the attic roof or a combination of both. Energy Efficient Window Film The U.S. Dept. of Energy estimates that during the summer up to 60% of a home’s cooling energy is lost through its windows and during the winter up to 25% of a home’s heating energy is lost through its windows. If you have very old single pane or leaky widows the best option is to replace them. However, if you have window that aren't leaky, their energy performance can be substantially improved by adding energy efficient window film. This film allows most visible light to pass through (usually around 80%), they blocking almost all (usually close around 98%) of harmful ultraviolet light from entering the house, and they block most infrared solar heat from penetrating the window. This means that in the summer about 70% of solar heat is prevented from entering your house and in the winter, about 40% of heat is prevented from escaping to the outside through your windows. There are many manufacturers of these products and you can dial the performance you'd like to certain level. Energy efficient window films can be installed professionally or they can be a do-it-yourself project. =Fixing or Replacing Leaky Air Ducts= This should be a big area of focus for older houses with forced air heating and/or cooling. The problem is, that over time, the duct system that carries the hot or cool air develops leaks and becomes inefficient. Since the ducts typically run through the attic, or in the basement or under-house crawl space, the leaks mean heat or cool is lost to non-living spaces. With an older house or in a house where ducts could have been damaged, leakage could range up to 50% or more which is a huge loss of energy efficiency and money waste. Unfortunately, it is not easy to determine your self if you have leaky ducts. The only way to be sure is to hire a professional heating/cooling expert that is setup with the equipment to do a thorough duct test. To do this, all of the vents where heating or cooling enters your living spaces are blocked (with tape or temporarily installed coverings) and then a blower is applied to the ducts to pressurize the duct system and then leakage is measured with a professional tool. If it is determined that your ducts are leaky, they can either be fixed by replacing sections or sealing them with tape or spray-on sealant or the duct system could be completely replaced. In addition to sealing leaks, the energy efficiency of your ducts can be improved by adding insulation to the ducts if they do not have them. This insulation surrounds the ducts and further reduces heating or cooling loss. =Fixing Air or Thermal Leaks= Air Leaks In a house, there could be problem areas where there are air is allowed to leak from or into the house. This means heating or cooling is lost to the outside making your house less efficient than it should be. Air leaks can come from many sources: * Door and window frames * Mail chutes * Electrical and gas service entrances * Cable TV and phone lines * Outdoor water faucets * Where dryer vents pass through walls * Bricks, siding, stucco, and foundation * Air conditioners * Vents and fans. A heating / cooling professional that is capable of doing a house leakage test will find leaks by executing a blower door test. For this test, a door is removed from the house and a blower door is temporarily installed that blocks the opening except for the section that icludes a blower or fan. When installed and turned on, air pressure will build in the house and special instruments will measure how air-tight your house is. If the house is determined to be leaky, the professional will typcially walk around the house use a smoke pencil to emit a safe smoke that in areas that may be leaking that can then be seen emerging from the ouside of the house or into the attic or crawl space if an actual leak is present. The areas that are identified as leaky can then be fixed. Thermal Leaks Thermal leaks are areas that could come from air leaks, but may also be areas where heating or cooling is escaping without any air leakage. These leaks are often hidden. An example of this type of leak is an area in walls or ceilings that does not have adequate insulation or where the insulation was improperly installed or damaged. These types of leaks cannot be detected with a blower test (see above) so require another method to identify called thermal imaging. Thermal imaging uses a special camera to identify which makes areas of heat or cold easily that are different from the surrounding areas easily identifiable. The images to the left show an area around a window using a normal camera and using a thermal camera . With the thermal image, you can clearly see that there is an area around the window that has a thermal leak that is not visible from either the inside or outside that needs to be addressed. Thermal imaging is typically done by a professional because the best thermal cameras can be very expensive, but if you have one or want to buy one, using it to find hidden leaks in your house can be relatively easy. However, some hidden leaks can be very subtle so it may be easy for a an inexperienced person to miss the leak when looking at a thernal image. =Energy Efficient Lighting= The three best options for improving the lighting energy efficiency over standard incandescent lights are: *Compact Florescent Lighting (CFL) *Light Emitting Diode Lighting (LED) *Energy Efficient incandescent lighting Compact Florescent Lighting (CFL) Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) are four times as efficient as incandescent lights, they last up to ten times longer and they use 50-80% less energy. While they are initially more expensive, they will be cheaper over the medium and long term. Early CFLs had very cold, bright light that was not as "warm" and liked as much as incandescent lighting but more recent products offer have now closely matched the preferred incandescents light. Another are of dislike for CFLs is that unlike incandescent or LED lighting they take time to warm up to full lighting. One environmental concern about CFLs is that they contain mercury. While the quantities included in a bulb are so low to not be of concern to a household that breaks one, the amount of mercury that could potentially be exposed to the environment as they fail and are thrown away is a long term concern for these bulbs. Light Emitting Diode Lighting (LED) Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting are superior to both incandescents and CFLs. They last up to five to ten times as long as CFLs and are generally over twice as efficient as CFLs. They use no mercury, so are better for the environment, and they are more durable as their construction is more solid so they better withstand jarring or bumping. Similar to CFLs, early generation of LEDs had a cold, bright light, but recent versions can produce light almost identical to incandescents in warmth. The only downside of LEDs is the cost which is quite a bit more expensive than CFLs but over the life of the bulb will be cheaper than CFLs. Energy Efficient Incandescent Lighting While more efficient incandescent lights such as halogen lighting have existed for a long time, there is continued research and development of of energy efficient incandescent lighting. THere is a misconception that based on recent laws, incandescent lights bulbs will become illegal, but in fact the law only set standards for lighting efficiency that must be made and any technology can be used. Some manufactures like Philips already have a newer generation of incandescent bulbs that are around 30% more efficient. While no where near as efficient as CFLs or LEDs, they are lower cost options of improving lighting efficiency and further development could improve this. Comparison of Incandescent, CFL and LED Lighting The following table compares some of the key characteristics of LED, CFL and Incandescent bulbs. It shoudl be noted that bulb costs can change rapidly, the cost for power varies widely from region to region and new generations of bulbs further improve performence. However, thie table does provide a good comparison viewpoint. The following tble compares the total houshold cost for LED, CFL and Incandescent bulbs over 50,000 hours, assuming 25 bulbs per houshold. This clearly illustrates the long term cost savings of both LED and CFL over incandescent and even though LED lights are ore expensive than CFLs, they still are slightly cheaper over the long term. =Energy Efficient Heating or Cooling Systems= If you house has and old furnace or central air conditioning system, a great way to improve energy efficiency is to upgrade to new energy efficient systems. A good rule of thumb is that it is time to replace your equipment if: * your heat pump or air conditioner is ore than 10 years old, * your furnace or bolier is more than 15 years old, * your equipment is breaking down often, or * your energy costs are rapidly going up. There are many options to increase energy efficiency of heating and cooling systems. The most common options are: * forced air heating * heat pumps (for heating and cooling) * hyrdonic heating * radient heating Forced Air Heating Forced air heating is a traditional heating system that utilizes gas burners which then heat a large metal chamber. The air is pushed over the metal chamber, warmed and then forced through ducts into various rooms by an electrical fan. Since hot air rises, the air near the ceiling may reach 82 degrees while the air near the floor might be only 69 degrees. The higher the ceiling is, the greater this effect becomes. Homes that include vaulted ceilings experience enormous comfort and efficiency challenges with forced air systems. Furthermore, conventional systems often leave houses with hot and cold spots as well as drafts. When purchasing a system look for "Energy Star" rated systems that have the highest efficiency you can afford. Heat Pumps Heat Pumps are another traditional system used widely. They are extremely energy efficient, but they tend to be more complex in that they can double as an air conditioner. Heat pumps are run by electricity, but the electricity used in a heat pump operates differently then expected. It uses an electric motor not a heat coil therefore it uses far less current. With heat pumps, more energy is supplied than consumed, simply because heat is extracted from the air and water within its surroundings. For these reasons, heat pumps can circulate more air and last for longer periods of time. Another advantage of heat pumps is because the run off electricity, if you install a solar system, you can potentially power your heating and cooling systems for free or at reduced cost. Additionally, you have the option of installing geothermal run heat pumps which run long pipes through ground to use the near constant temperature of the earth as a very efficient method to generate heating and cooling in even more efficient fashions than standard heat pumps. As with forced air systems, look for "Energy Star" rated systems and buy the highest efficiency system you can afford. Hydronic Heating Hydronic heating is a heating system that uses water. It can be used with forced air or radiant heating systems. With hydronic forced air applications, heated water is passed through several long, narrow baseboard-style radiating units and a blower pushes the cool air across the units. As the cold air passes over the units, the air is heated and directed to the living area. Unfortunately, this option often causes hot and cold spells. Radiant Heating Radiant heating systems increase comfort, economy, and flexibility. The heated water is run through pipes in the floor (or walls) and the floor gets warm as the heat radiates into the living area. Radiant systems provide a more constant heat than forced-air options. Radiant heating systems are considered to be the best of the best. Unfortunately, radiant heating systems can be very expensive to install and maintain. However, they also use less energy than comparable forced air systems which will end up saving homeowners lots of money. Radiant heating systems can use 20% to 40% less energy to heat the same space, while maintaining a much more comfortable heat level. Boilers are important considerations with radiant heating systems. The boiler is responsible for heating the water that circulates through the baseboard radiators or the tubing in the floor. Without a sufficient amount of heated water, the baseboard radiation and tubing will not have enough heated water to radiate into the home. For this reason, choosing the right boiler can make or break a system. The trick to saving money with a radiant heating system is to connect an individual water heater to the boiler. This will heat a greater volume of water more efficiently than a conventional water heater. The truth is that conventional water heaters heat about 40 to 50 gallons of water in an hour at 55% efficiency. By connecting a conventional water heater to a boiler, it will heat 200 gallons or more in an hour at 87% or more efficiency. For households that require a lot of water, the ladder is the most logical choice. =Solar Energy Sytems= Solar energy systems include photovoltaic (PV) systems and thermal solar systems. Photovoltaic Systems (PV) Solar energy, clean and renewable power source, is becoming more widely adopted today due to decreasing cost, tax incentives and leasing options. Photovoltaic systems use solar panels to gather and directly convert the sun’s energy into electricity. During daylight, the photovoltaic cells which are arranged on a grid like pattern on the solar panel’s surface collect the sunlight and turn it into direct electricity and an inverter converts direct current to alternating current that is usable in a house. Although power can of course, only be generated in daylight hours, in many areas of the country, house owners can be setup by their power company to be paid for energy they generate. This enables a strategy where a owner installs a system which generates more energy than need in peak energy periods (where cost is the highest) -- this excess energy is then "sold" to the power company at high rates which then offset the cost of energy purchased in hours of darkness. Using this strategy, a solar energy house owner can drive energy cost to zero or near zero. PV systems can be expensive, costing tens to twenty thousand for small systems up to a hundred thousand dollars or more for a large mansion. Costs can be offset by federal and state tax break for energy efficient systems. Return on investment analysis typically creates a break even scenario in five to ten years. An additional option for PV systems is to lease them from companies who pay for all the installation costs and maintenance, and the "sell" you energy at rates lower than traditional power companies. This is a good option for saving money and reducing up front costs, but in the end, you of course can never reduce your electricity cost to zero. Thermal Solar Systems Another way to harness the sunlight is by using solar thermal energy. This is commonly used for heating homes, providing hot water, heating swimming pools, and space heating. Usually, space and hot water heaters use a storage tank to store the heated water while pool heaters recycle the water by using collectors, often placed on the roof which use the sun to heat the water and return it to the pool or hot water heater. See also Category:Sustainable living Category:Energy conservation Category:Money conservation